1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to novel dental pins. More particularly, it relates to novel dental pins having a pair of shafts, one on each side of an intermediate handle of sufficient dimensions to be digitally grasped by the dentist. Each shaft has a fracture groove between the leading portion of the shaft and the handle so the leading portion can be severed from the handle after the shaft has been securely inserted into a pre-drilled hole in the patient's tooth.
2. Prior Art
It is generally known that dental pins can be used in building superstructures on a tooth having a substantial portion thereof that has been removed.
The dental pin disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,928,915 has no handle but has a plurality of threaded sections which are connected by regions of reduced cross-section.
Another dental pin which requires a wrench is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,675,328 to Weissman. This patent discloses a plurality of self-threading sections which are separated from each other by a fracture groove so that the leading section can be easily separated from the next adjacent after the leading section has been screwed into a pre-drilled hole in a tooth.
A self-tapping, one-use dental pin having an integral handle and a self-tapping flute at its leading edge is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,861,043 to Lieb et al.